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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23415916">the crystal babysitters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jilliancares/pseuds/jilliancares'>jilliancares</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Babysitting, Gen, Kid Fic, Raising a Child</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:53:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23415916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jilliancares/pseuds/jilliancares</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A handful of scenes where the crystal gems babysit Steven as he grows up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the crystal babysitters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I need you to watch him,” Greg says, holding the baby. Steven. Rose. “Just for a couple hours. I need to go pick up some spare parts, and I really can’t drive that far with Steven in the van.”</p><p>“We don’t know how to watch a baby,” Pearl scoffs, crossing her arms. Honestly, the fact that Greg even came here… What right does he have to return to the temple?</p><p>“Please,” Greg says. “I know you hate me. But you can’t — you can’t hate <em>him</em>.” He bounces the baby a bit, and Steven gurgles against his chest. His little hand comes up and grips a fistful of Greg’s hair, pulling. Pearl watches, fascinated despite herself.</p><p>“We’ll watch him,” Garnet says, and she takes off her glasses as if to emphasize her point, all three eyes open.</p><p>“Thank you,” Greg sighs. And then he plants this giant bag at their feet. “Okay, there’s diapers and wipes and formula in here,” he says. “It’s been in the fridge for a while so just make sure you give it to him before it gets warm. And there’s some toys in here too. He likes to chew on them, and that’s fine.” He bounces the baby again. Garnet’s eyes are somehow wider.</p><p>Maybe Pearl was right. They really have no idea how to look after a baby.</p><p>“Um,” Garnet says.</p><p>Greg continues quickly, obviously in a rush, obviously having left this to the last minute. Either that, or he tried other avenues before resorting to them. That actually makes Garnet feel abashed. Steven <em>is</em> one of them after all. He should be able to depend on them. “It’s okay if he falls asleep, but try not to let him sleep for too long or he’ll be up all night. Give him his pacifier if he starts to cry. Call me if you have any problems.”</p><p>“We don’t have phones,” Pearl points out.</p><p>Greg falters. “There are phone booths at the board walk,” he finally acquiesces. And then he hands them a business card. “That’s my cell. Okay, I really gotta go — don’t kill him!” He hands the baby to Pearl, who holds him at arm’s length, before he turns and runs down the sandy hill.</p><p>Garnet quickly glances into the future, thankfully seeing no likely version where they actually <em>do</em> kill Steven.</p><p>Her and Pearl stare at him. He stares back, for a moment, wiggling and fussing in Pearl’s arms, and then his face scrunches up.</p><p>“Uh oh,” Garnet says, a moment before he huffs, hiccups, and then starts to cry.</p><p>“Ah!” Pearl shouts. “Make it stop!”</p><p>“You’re holding him wrong!” Garnet decides.</p><p>The temple lights up behind them and Amethyst appears, yawning. “Holy shit, what animal are you torturing over there?”</p><p>“It’s Steven!” Pearl says frantically.</p><p>“She’s holding him wrong!” Garnet adds.</p><p>“You hold him, then!”</p><p>Garnet freezes, taking a step back. That thing is so <em>small</em>. What if she just crushed it immediately? And it’s wiggling a whole lot. He’d probably fall and crack his head open. Or worse, his gem.</p><p>“I wanna touch him,” Amethyst says, getting closer. Pearl gladly shoves the baby into Amethyst’s arms.</p><p>Garnet saw exactly one future where this caused Steven to silence immediately, grabbing Amethyst’s hair similar to how he’d grabbed Greg’s. Instead, he takes one look at his new placement in Amethyst’s arms and starts bawling louder.</p><p>“Wow, rude,” Amethyst says. “How am I worse than Pearl?”</p><p>“We have to call Greg,” Pearl says frantically. “Is he dying already? Is that why he’s crying?”</p><p>“Maybe he needs something,” Amethyst says, and Garnet snatches the baby bag off the ground, tearing it open before peering inside.</p><p>Future vision allows her to see exactly what the diapers are used for — <em>gross</em> — and she decides right then that that’s not what Steven needs right now, because she doesn’t want it to be.</p><p>“What was it that Greg said to give him if he’s crying?” Pearl asks.</p><p>“Pacifier,” Garnet says.</p><p>“What is that?” Pearl asks.</p><p>“Uhhh… this?” Amethyst guesses, coming over and grabbing some sort of ring. It’s made of rubber and the size of her wrist. She places it on top of Steven. He wiggles and it falls to the ground. “He hates the pacifier!”</p><p>“Maybe that wasn’t it,” Pearl says.</p><p>Garnet tosses aside a stuffed animal, a blanket, a tiny onesie, and a bag of wipes before finding a bottle. “Maybe he’s hungry,” she decides, holding the bottle aloft.</p><p>“Maybe <em>I’m</em> hungry,” Amethyst says gleefully, holding her hand out.</p><p>“No. We only have one,” Garnet says, keeping it from her.</p><p>“Aww, come on!” she whines. “He’s so small! You really think he needs that whole thing?!” She makes a snatch for the bottle, Steven wobbling worryingly in her hold, and Garnet grabs him from her arms before one of those horrible realities where they kill him can come true.</p><p>Oh, great. Now <em>she’s</em> holding the baby.</p><p>But Steven looks up at her, his eyes wide, and his crying ceases. He reaches out with a hand and touches her face.</p><p>“I’ve tamed him,” Garnet announces. There are still tears on his face, but they’re no longer falling. His hand is so small, but when she reaches up, allowing him to grab one of her fingers, she finds that his grip is strong. “I love him,” she declares.</p><p>“What?” Pearl scoffs. “You don’t even know him!”</p><p>“You’re just jealous,” Garnet says. “Because he likes me the most.”</p><p>Pearl splutters. “That’s not — hey! Rose liked <em>me</em> the most!”</p><p>“And this isn’t Rose,” Garnet says, because as much as they’ve wanted to deny this, they know it’s true. He isn’t Rose. He’s someone completely new.</p><p>Steven makes this squealing sound with his mouth, and it turns into a giggle. Garnet sinks to the ground and cradles him against her chest. She blinks one eye closed at a time and Steven shrieks in delight, his toothless mouth stretching into a smile. Garnet smiles back.</p><p>“It’s my turn,” Pearl protests, coming over to stand next to him.</p><p>“It’s too late,” Garnet says quietly. “I’ve already won his heart.”</p><p>And the day passes without any other major troubles. Even if they all panic momentarily when he closes his eyes and stills. Pearl wells up and sobs about how he died on their watch, and Amethyst panics, racing to the warp to retrieve buckets of tears from Rose’s fountain, but then Steven moves and they realize that he was sleeping, because, oh yeah, humans do that.</p><p>So. They’ve got a lot to learn.</p><p>--</p><p>After conquering their first babysitting session, the gems don’t mind looking after Steven so much. They have a strange affinity for him, and Garnet suspects it isn’t solely because he carries his mother’s gem.</p><p>In fact, they don’t even force Greg to come to them all the time anymore. Once, Garnet announced that she was going to his carwash to pay the baby a visit, and Pearl and Amethyst decided to tag along. Pearl claimed she didn’t want Steven to only see Garnet and decide that she was his favorite automatically.</p><p>Greg is surprised to see them, because they don’t forewarn him of their arrival in any way, and they’d never seeked out his company in the past. But he doesn’t protest their presence, and he even thanks them as he pushes the stroller a little bit closer to them. Apparently, it’s hard to wash cars and watch Steven at the same time.</p><p>So Greg washes cars and Garnet pulls Steven out of the stroller and into her lap. Pearl insists on giving him a bottle, because she says then he’ll associate her with sustenance which will turn into a natural affinity for her.</p><p>Garnet doesn’t protest, because Steven still reaches out to hold her finger that day, which she’s sure means that he loves her the most.</p><p>At one point, he opens his mouth and makes these sounds while the gems are talking to each other. It’s mostly “bah!”s, but it’s still alarming.</p><p>“Greg!” Garnet calls. Greg rushes over, holding a sponge.</p><p>“What is it?! What’s wrong?”</p><p>“He’s attempting speech,” Garnet says.</p><p>“Bah!” says Steven.</p><p>“Yeah, he’s babbling,” Greg says fondly. “He loves to talk. Don’t you, Schtu-ball?”</p><p>“Dahba!”</p><p>“Yeah, you do. I hear ya.”</p><p>Garnet stares at Steven fiercely. “Garnet,” she says.</p><p>“Gah.”</p><p>Garnet smiles. “I win.”</p><p>“Say Pearl!” Pearl demands.</p><p>“I don’t think he can make the ‘P’ sound, yet,” Greg says apologetically. “He’s just making sounds.”</p><p>“And he’s so good at it,” Amethyst praises, poking his nose.</p><p>One day, he’ll be able to say entire words. Entire sentences. But staring at this baby now, it seems impossible to believe.</p><p>--</p><p>It’s after his first birthday when they find out he’s mobile. He talks even more now, and can make sounds that they associate with each of their names, but the surprises don’t stop coming.</p><p>“Sorry,” Greg says, standing in front of the temple. “I know you’re probably busy—”</p><p>“We can watch him,” Garnet says immediately.</p><p>Greg slumps in relief. “Thank you!” he says. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He hands over Steven, who immediately turns in Garnet’s arms and reaches for his father. “Keep a close eye on him. Now that he can walk, he doesn’t ever want to sit still.”</p><p>And with that, he leaves.</p><p>“Wait, walk?” Amethyst says.</p><p>Pearl stares at the baby. “No way he can walk on those tiny legs,” she says, scoffing, but Garnet gently lowers him to the ground. Immediately, Steven takes off, waddling toward the warp.</p><p>“He’s warping away!” Amethyst cries, as Steven goes to his hands and knees and clambers onto the thing. They all rush toward him, terrified, as he plops down on his butt and just sits there, staring up at them.</p><p>“I don’t think he can warp yet,” Garnet ventures, grateful. They all step onto the warp pad anyway, just in case. Steven giggles sharply, pushing himself back to his feet.</p><p>“You’re not going anywhere,” Garnet says softly, satisfied. Steven raises his arms.</p><p>“Up!” he says.</p><p>Pearl presses her fingers to his mouth. “Oh,” she says. “That is so…”</p><p>“CUTE!” Amethyst cries.</p><p>“Up!” Steven repeats himself, and Garnet lifts him back to eye level. He grins at her with his tiny baby teeth.</p><p>“You are the best baby in the world,” Garnet tells him seriously.</p><p>“Gam,” he says. Which is her name, now.</p><p>“Yes,” Garnet says. “I <em>am</em> the best Crystal Gem.”</p><p>“He didn’t say that,” Pearl scoffs.</p><p>“Pee,” Steven says, looking at her. Pearl blushes blue, but that’s what he calls her, even if it is kind of an insult.</p><p>“See?” she says. “I’m also the best Crystal Gem.”</p><p>“Ugghhh,” Amethyst groans. “That’s not fair. Your names are easy.”</p><p>“And that’s why you’re Sis,” Garnet says. Steven shouts his agreement.</p><p>--</p><p>At four years old, Steven’s a spitfire. Garnet’s sure that he’s the most energetic kid to ever exist. He likes to play, always. He makes them chase him around, but they never catch him. Mostly because he’s too cute, giggling and shouting as he races away from them.</p><p>Except sometimes Garnet will catch him, just to hear him shriek as she picks him up and swings him through the air.</p><p>He’s also in love with the beach. Every time he’s under their watch, he races into the water. They always return him in a different outfit, though Greg doesn’t seem to mind the extra laundry. Still, Garnet’s considering installing a washer and dryer to help out, anyway. They already have enough of Steven’s belongings lying around in the temple, including clothing, toys, and several coloring books. She just has to figure out how to make the machines run on magic.</p><p>“Steven,” she tells him, after she’s caught him and is holding him in her arms. Amethyst is currently posing as a dog at their feet, and Pearl’s retrieving another pair of pants, because he ran into the water again while they were playing. “I love you.”</p><p>“Love you too,” he says brightly. And then he wiggles, and she puts him down, and he sprints off again with a shriek.</p><p>--</p><p>“It’s just for a couple hours, okay?” Dad says.</p><p>Steven blinks, mainly to keep his eyes from welling up. He has his favorite bear held tight to his chest, his fingers digging into the toy anxiously.</p><p>He’s eight years old now. Soon, he’s going to live with the Crystal Gems. Dad says it’ll be good for him, because he’s not just human, he’s half gem, and he has a lot to learn from them. Plus, the van’s not really big enough for the both of them anymore.</p><p>Part of Steven is really excited. The gems are cool. But they’re <em>scary</em> cool — emphasis on scary. Despite the fact that he’s technically one of them, on some level, he feels very, very different. It’s never more obvious than when he’s around them.</p><p>And now Dad has to run to the next city, something about buying some sort of parts for the car wash, and it’s going to be a long drive. That’s why he asked the gems to babysit.</p><p>“Can’t I go with you?” Steven whines, holding his bear just a little bit tighter.</p><p>“You know I can’t take you on long car rides just yet,” Dad says softly. “Kids really shouldn’t sit in the front seat, and since I don’t have backseats…”</p><p>“I can lay down in the back!” Steven urges. “We won’t even get pulled over!”</p><p>“Sorry, Schtu-ball,” Dad says. “It’s your safety I’m worried about. Promise you’ll be good for me?”</p><p>“I promise,” Steven mutters, and Dad hugs him before leaning across the seat to open the door for him. It’s dumb. He always sits in the front seat whenever they drive around Beach City, and no one here cares about it!</p><p>“I’ll wait for you to get inside,” Dad assures him. “The gems are expecting you.”</p><p>Steven closes the door behind him, looking up at the house that he’ll live in in a couple weeks. The gems only built it recently, and he can remember what the temple looked like before it was here.</p><p>He climbs the rickety steps and stands before the door.</p><p>Technically, this is going to be his house. Technically, this is his door.</p><p>Still, Steven knocks.</p><p>It swings open almost immediately, and Amethyst is the one standing there. “Alright!” she cheers. “Guys, Steven’s here!”</p><p>She grabs his arm and yanks him inside. Steven doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to do to entertain himself for a couple of hours. They don’t have coloring books or a TV or video games or <em>anything</em> besides boring old furniture.</p><p>“Welcome, Steven,” Garnet says.</p><p>“Hi,” Steven says shyly. He’s known the gems forever — his whole life, actually — but they’re just so different. Plus, he really only ever hangs out with Dad.</p><p>“This is great,” Amethyst says, collapsing onto the couch. “No missions today! Just Steven time.”</p><p>Steven stands in the doorway. He hasn’t seen the place furnished yet, and he feels weird just being here. He misses Dad already.</p><p>“Who’s that, Steven?” It’s Pearl who asks it. She comes down from the loft, and he spies a bed up there. That must be his, because the gems all live inside the temple, and Steven doesn’t think they actually sleep, either. Wow, he’s going to have his own room!</p><p>“It’s M.C. Bear Bear,” Steven says, holding it up. “Dad said I could take one stuffed animal.”</p><p>“You made a good choice,” Garnet says, and Steven blushes.</p><p>“Thanks,” he says.</p><p>Everyone falls silent. Steven hugs M.C. Bear Bear back to his chest.</p><p>“So…” Amethyst says loudly. “What do you even do all day?”</p><p>Steven shugs. “Play?” he says. “Sometimes I help Dad wash cars. And I have a D.S., but I forgot to charge it.”</p><p>“Have you written any other songs?” Pearl asks, and Steven blushes bright red. He wrote them a song (with Dad’s help) and played it for them recently, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to forget about that anytime soon.</p><p>“No,” Steven says, kicking his toe into the floor.</p><p>“We could write one together,” Garnet suggests, and Steven turns to her with wide eyes, his mouth falling open. She laughs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”</p><p>Pearl finds a piece of paper and a pen. They’re all gathered around the coffee table in the living room, Steven sitting between Garnet and Pearl while Amethyst lays on the table in front of them. They’ve been letting Steven come up with most of the lyrics, but when he’s stumped, they pitch in.</p><p>Eventually, Steven starts to get hungry, but gems don’t have to eat, so he doubts they’ll have anything. He’s too shy to speak up about it either, but Dad’ll be back eventually, and then they can get dinner together.</p><p>At some point, Garnet mentions that she brought him a souvenir from their last mission. She doesn’t let Steven follow her into the temple, but she comes back with a geode she found in a cavern. Steven holds it reverently, and he thanks her before setting it by the door so he won’t forget it when he leaves.</p><p>After that, they go down to the beach. Steven spends the better part of an hour walking along the shore, picking up any shell or rock that seems particularly cool. It’s when he’s just spotted a crab, and is debating picking it up, that he sees Dad’s van round the corner. Dad honks, and Steven waves, racing back to the gems.</p><p>“Dad’s here!” he says breathlessly.</p><p>“Maybe you can finish our song with him,” Pearl suggests. “You can play it for us when you move in.”</p><p>Steven grins, the thought of moving in somehow less daunting, now.</p><p>“Yeah, okay!” he says, just as Dad pulls up and rolls down his window.</p><p>“Hey, Schtu-ball!” he says happily. “Did you have fun?”</p><p>“Yeah!”</p><p>“Thanks again, guys.”</p><p>“You know it’s no problem,” Garnet says, crossing her arms.</p><p>“You ready to go, kiddo?” Dad says.</p><p>“Yeah,” Steven says, racing toward the car. Then he halts, whirling around and racing back to the gems.</p><p>“Forget something?” Garnet asks.</p><p>“Yeah,” he says. “This is for you.” Blushing, he shoves a handful of sea glass and seashells into her hand. “Um. You guys can share them,” he says.</p><p>“Did you want to go get your geode?” Pearl reminds him. Steven’s half a second from racing back up the steps and grabbing it from its spot by the door, but he falters.</p><p>“Nah,” he says. “I’ll keep it at home.”</p><p>The gems grin at him. Steven grins back.</p>
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